Utilities Recover, Adapt in Hurricane Joaquin’s Aftermath

Cleanup and mitigation efforts are far from over after South Carolina bears the brunt of a '1,000-year storm'

Nov 09, 2015 | by Paul Nicolaus |

Utilities Recover, Adapt in Hurricane Joaquin’s Aftermath — Gates to the sampling building at a wastewater treatment plant in Summerville, South Carolina — located on the Ashley River — had to be opened to release the water inside the facility and prevent the fence from being swept away. (photo courtesy of Summerville Commissioners of Public Works)

Although East Coast utilities may have been relieved to hear that Hurricane Joaquin would remain out to sea instead of hitting the coastline as originally predicted, the storm still managed to inundate many states with extraordinary rainfall in early October, and it was South Carolina in particular that wound up seeing the worst of it.“We are at a 1,000-year level of rain,” South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said at a press conference held on Oct. 4. “That’s how big this is.” A 1,000-year rainfall essentially means that the amount of rainfall in South Carolina has a 1-in-1,000 chance of occurring

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